The latest smart home gadget, Amazon Echo, is now available to everyone

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Until today, the Amazon Echo was only available to a select group of Prime members — despite having launched seven months ago.

In a letter posted on Amazon's homepage this morning, CEO and founder Jeff Bezos wrote that, going forward, the device will be available to everyone. "We launched Echo as an invitation-only program in November to learn how customers would use and enjoy it most. The response has been overwhelming." Overwhelmingly positive, that is. The device has amassed over 19,000 customers reviews for a respectable average of 4.5 out of 5 stars.

What does it do? In a nutshell: a lot. Echo is a Bluetooth speaker that is powered by a voice-activated software called Alexa, which is built to respond to a number of demands and questions as well as provide its users with instant access to music, news, weather updates, and much more.

"Since launch, we have added streaming music from Pandora, audiobooks from Audible, calendar access, live sports scores and schedules, traffic reports, Amazon.com re-ordering, control of connected devices such as lights and switches from WeMo and Philips Hue, and more," Bezos adds. "Many of these features are a result of feedback and suggestions from our customers — thank you."

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